SYNERGYIES
Exploring Architectural Synergies as a System of Connections
DYAN MONZON
SYNERGYIES
or cooperation of
Hi, I am Dyan Monzón
.
Welcome to my portfolio.
I’m an Architectural Designer passionate about creating synergistic spaces that connect people, structures, and their environments. I have 2 years of experience in leveraging innovative technologies with practical construction practices to deliver impactful and resilient solutions.
I’m excited to share with you my latest work.
DYAN MONZ ON dyanisai12@gmail.com | (915) 745-9496 | El Paso, TX 79938
LinkedIn Link: www.linkedin.com/in/dyan-monzon-37a38134a
EDUCATION
8/2022 - 5/2024
Texas Tech University, El Paso, TX: Bachelor of Science in Architecture
- Developed expertise in advanced software, digital fabrication, and interdisciplinary systems integration.
- Participated in semesterly field studies to major U.S cities, networking with top-tier institutions and firms , including Columbia, Berkeley, SCI-Arc, SOM, Snohetta, Perkins&Will, and SHoP Architects.
EXPERIENCE
8/2023 - 11/2024
Structures Construction Co.:
Architectural Drafter
- Contributed to three residential projects by delivering schematic designs, renderings, and precise drafting of as-built documents, achieving a 100% approval rate for accuracy.
- Worked closely with construction crews to actively redraw plans and document on-site adjustments, ensuring alignment between design intent and real-world conditions.
6/2022 - 4/2023
JT Arquitectura:
Visualization Specialist
- Delivered photorealistic visualizations to communicate design concepts and enhance client presentations for high-end residential projects in gated communities in Ciudad Juarez. 15% increase in client engagement.
5/2018 - 3/2020
CHOPEkE Collective:
Volunteer Laborer
- Contributed in hands-on construction of four projects, including a chapel that serves over 50 families in low-income communities in Ciudad Juarez, tasks included bricklaying, painting, and scaffolding assembly.
CERTIFICATIONS
2/2025
Healthier Materials and Sustainable Building Specialization
Parsons School of Design - The New School
LANGUAGE
- English - Fluent (C2)
- Spanish - Native (C2)
- French -Intermediate (B1)
EXPERTISE
* Rhino
- Revit
- AutoCAD
- ArcGIS
* Grasshopper
* Adobe Creative Suite
- D5 Render
* Twinmotion
- Physical Model Making
PROGRESSIVE DEVIATIONS
URBAN MOBILITY HUB
PROJECT TYPE: ACADEMIC
COURSE: ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN V
YEAR: FALL 2022
FACULTY: PAULINA LAGOS | ALEX CORTEZ
Located in the revitalizing El Paso downtown, the urban mobility hub acts as node that adresses the limited transportation options in the city. The design focuses on sustainable transit solutions, modular structures, and encouraging commuters to connect. Through fluid form, ramps, and local art exhibitions, the train station is an expression of the movement and creativity the city of El Paso embodies.
“Thin-Shell” Reinforced Concrete Roof
“Tree-Branching” Concrete Column System Enclosure + Columns
EXPLODED AXONOMETRIC -
The map highlights congestion and limited mobility options in downtown, where diverse groups cluster in revitalizing areas. These insights inform a design strategy for a mobility hub that deviates from conventional car-based transit, prioritizing active transport.
URBAN TRANSIT ANALYSIS
DOWNTOWN MAP - TRANSIT AND ROUTE ACCESIBILTY
EL PASO MAP - DEMOGRAPHICS AND INFRASTRUCTURE
BUILDING ON SITE - URBAN AND TRANSIT SYNERGIES
FORM DEVELOPMENT - CONTEXT SITE MUNICIPAL CODE RESTRAINT
The all-accessible ramp extends active transport to the human scale , dictating the program and structure
Drawing precedent from Zaha Hadid Architects’ Salerno Maritime Terminal, I carefully synthesized curvilinear explorations that concieved the tree branching typologies in my project. By tracing over precedent sections I ultimately evolved towards a more fluid and dynamic form.
FORM DEVELOPMENT - PRECEDENT PROGRESSIVE SECTION CURVILINEAR FORM STUDIES FORM DEVELOPMENT - EMERGENCY EGRESS + CIRCULATION
TRANSVERSAL SECTION - SITE CONNECTION LONGITUDINAL SECTION
Through the interplay of organic design principles —free flowing space, geometry, and branching structural qualities— a progressive synergy shapes a sectional strategy that informs the architectural framework.
NEXUS DYNAMICS
DUST INSTITUTE
PROJECT TYPE: ACADEMIC
COURSE: ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN VI
YEAR: SPRING 2023
FACULTY: GUILLERMO BARAJAS
Located in the El Paso - Juarez borderland, the Dust Institute situates itself in the middle of the Chihuhuan Desert where extreme dust conditions can have serious health consequences on the community. The institute creates a controlled environment that safeguards occupants from dust while simultaneously enabling research dust collection. To achieve this, the building design incorporates a performative membrane that responds directly to climactic conditions such as wind.
opening variants for different wind pressure configurations
The skin design employs “vortex” openings derived from the wind tunnel analysis, enhancing wind suction for dust collection.
land
SKIN DEVELOPMENT - “VORTEX” OPENINGS
COLLECTION DIAGRAM
SKIN DEVELOPMENT - STRUCTURE EXPLODED WALL AXONOMETRIC SKIN DEVELOPMENT - WIND PRESSURE ANALYSIS RESEARCH TOWER UNROLLED ELEVATION
The aperture of the performative skin is informed by its relationship with wind pressure intensity.
PERFORMATIVE SKIN ASSEMBLY
1’0” Reinforced Concrete Wall
4” Ceramic Brick Performative Skin
2”X 2” HSS Diagrid Steel Subframe
6” Ventilated Cavity Space
1’0” - 2’0” Concrete Slab
6”- 8” Dust Collection Basins
W6X12 Steel Outriggers
ROOF ASSEMBLY
8” Topsoil Layer
2” Gravel Layer
1/8” Weather Proofing Barrier
2” EPDM Roofing Insulation
1’0” Concrete Slab
STEEL FRAME ASSEMBLY
W10X12 Steel Framing
4” Aluminum Light Window Framing
2” GRC Conduits
12”X 24”Galvanized Steel Ducts
2’0” W-Section Steel Truss
1” Insulated Double Window Pane
2” Aluminum Mullions
WALL AXONOMETRIC
Controlled dust collection is achieved through wall state configuration, where a drawer-like basin allows access to accumulated dust.
ATMOSPHERIC BUILDING SECTION - ENVIRONMENT AND SKIN RELATIONSHIP
The building’s skin orchestrates adaptive micro and macroclimates , using calibrated airflow to shape curated dust conditions.
This model embodies layered synergies of form, skin, and climate-responsive systems, where each element—aperture and wall state configurations— collaborate to optimize environmental responsiveness and architectural performance.
UNRAVELED ARRANGEMENTS
RESIDENTIAL HOUSING TOWER
PROJECT TYPE: ACADEMIC
COURSE: ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN VII
YEAR: FALL 2023
FACULTY: ANDRES GANDARA
Located in Medellin, Colombia’s most underserved community, the housing tower is designed to enrich the community through the use of strategic systems, taking advantage of the environment. The project’s ingenuity extends beyond green technologies by promoting food production within the building with a volunteer-driven program for a communal pantry and garden. This initiative epitomizes the fusion of affordable housing, environmental consciousness, and community empowerment.
ISOMETRIC SECTION - HOLISTIC INTEGRATION OF STRUCTURAL AND HUMAN BEHAVIORS
MEDELLIN MAP - ECOLOGY, ECONOMIC STRATA AND INFRASTRUCTURE
This map highlights Comuna 13’s heightened vulnerability to colder, more humid, and windier conditions compared to other areas, compounded by extreme rainfall, economic, and infrastructural challenges. These insights inform a resilient, energy-efficient design strategy focused on reducing costs and enhancing environmental protection for the community’s underserved residents.
COMUNA 13 MAP - BUILT AND NATURAL CONTEXT
GROUP WORK: DYAN MONZON AND RICARDO PACHECO
UNIT DEVELOPMENT - UNIT RELATIONSHIP AND AGGREGATIONS
To adress the need for affordable housing, modular apartments are designed with conventional shapes that assemble into innovative, unraveled arrangements. This thoughtful design strategy leads to a purposeful program-unit relationship, where calibrated sizing creates an organized harmony between systems , effectively balancing a 20’ X 20’ structural grid and a continous network of wet walls for rainwater harvesting.
STUDIO UNIT PLAN
TWO BEDROOM UNIT PLAN
THREE BEDROOM UNIT PLANS
STUDIO UNIT SECTION
TWO BEDROOM UNIT SECTION
THREE BEDROOM UNIT SECTION
1 - Mechanical: Rain-Harvesting System
2 - Structure: Cross-Laminated Timber Structure
3
3 - Enclosure: Wind-Shielding Membrane
The tower’s design prioritizes wind mitigation and programmatic flow , with setbacks that create negative wind pressure to shield against eastern winds. The structure’s CLT frame and rain-harvesting system work together to reduce costs , circulating collected water through wet walls to enhance sustainability.
SECTION EVENTS - SYNTHESIZING INDIVIDUAL AND COLLECTIVE LIVING
The tower cultivates a community where coexistence thrives through collective systems —balancing public and private spaces with synergetic rain-harvesting networks and communal gardens, allowing residents to harvest food together and join communal life, or retreat into their intimate living units.
TRANSVERSAL SECTION - MATERIAL AND SYSTEM SYNERGIES
LONGITUDINAL SECTION - SPATIAL COMPLEXITIES AND ADJACENCIES
BUILDING MODEL
The tower responds to its environmental context through a CLT structure, a wind-shielding brick membrane, and a rain-harvesting system, forming a synergetic matrix that minimizes energy use and carbon emissions.
CASA DELEON CUSTOM
HOUSING
PROJECT TYPE: PROFESSIONAL (GROUP)
COMPANY: STRUCTURES CONSTRUCTION CO.
YEAR: FALL 2023
PROJECT LEAD: JOSE GIL | ALEJANDRO SOTO
While working at Structures Construction Co., I collaborated closely with contractor Jose Gil, designer Alejandro Soto, and their construction crew to deliver on-site adjustments between design intent and real-world conditions for high-end custom residential projects such as Casa Deleon in Coronado Country Club. My role centered on actively redrawing plans and elevations after client driven change orders during construction, as well as provide rendered visualizations for the project as shown.
FORM DEVELOPMENT -
FIRST FLOOR AS-BUILT PLAN -
DRAWING EVOLVING STRUCTURES DURING CONSTRUCTION
The process of drawing the as-built plans required precise field measurements , coordination with the construction crew, and translating discrepancies into accurate drawings. Resolving inconsistencies between documents and construction required problem solving and the experience taught me to align structural and spatial elements, and to anticipate design conflicts.
3D MODEL ISOMETRIC
EAST ELEVATION
SECOND FLOOR AS-BUILT PLAN
